


R.E.M. style

by Nigamiestmajeur_e



Category: Le Visiteur du Futur / Visitor from the Future, The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Kinda Spoilery, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 13:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigamiestmajeur_e/pseuds/Nigamiestmajeur_e
Summary: Blank. Everything is blank. Under his feet, above his head, in front of him. There is no horizon, no limits. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.





	R.E.M. style

What The Fuck.

That's what Five is thinking right now. Because, really, what the fuck. He travelled through time before, and he will probably travel through time again. He knows all the tricks, all the cogs, all the freaking knacks, he knows that sometimes it's like a throw of the dice but... what the HELL ? 

Blank. Everything is blank. Under his feet, above his head, in front of him. There is no horizon, no limits. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

What The Fuck.

He was at the Commission few seconds ago, he blew up every suitcases and he... oh shit he... fuck... Something was wrong with the suitcase because of the explosion ? Did it put him somewhere or somewhen else ? Or did it explode and Five is actually... dead ?

"First time, right ?"

Five turns around and discovers a man standing, a strange man, a hobo, a mess, the kind of person Five would look with condescension. But there is something in his eyes. Something familiar. Like these eyes stared into the void, and the void stared back. And stayed into these eyes.

The man scratches his chin, damn his face is full of cuts, how did he have it ? Did he throw some snow globes on his visage or something ? Did he do that on purpose ? Is he okay ? Is he okay ? Is HE okay ? Okay ? Am I okay ?

"Are you okay ?"

He asks, and Five has no idea, no idea what to say. He still watches the man, and his glasses, and his long coat, and his mittens, and his green shirt, and his eyes, and his blue pants, and his scars, and his eyes, and the machine on his arms and his freaking eyes. And the dust on him. Five knows that dust. It surrounded him back when it was... it was...

"What happened ? he murmurs.  
\- What ? What do you mean ?  
\- It's... It's the end ? I failed ?  
\- I don't know what you're talking about, boy. But I can assure you it's not the end. It's not the beginning either. Welcome..."  
He opens his arms, twirls and screams :  
"To the Timeless Zone !"

Drama queen.

"The what ? asks Five.  
\- You know, there is the comfort zone, the Twilight Zone, the Adventure Zone, the friend-zone well here it's the Timeless Zone. Did you use some kind of machine to travel through time ?  
\- Yes !  
\- When you travel, you use tunnels. But sometimes, you accidentally end up outside the tunnels. Here, in the Timeless Zone. Happens to me a lot.  
\- You mean... you travel..."

Five scans the entire body of the man once more, looking for answers, looking for weapons, looking for something, just to be sure, just in case. The suitcase. He doesn't have a suitcase. He can travel through time but he doesn't have a suitcase.

"Yeah. I use this." 

He shows a weird and huge armband with buttons and a screen.

"It's called a Tempus Fugitron. What do YOU have ?"

It isn't a questioning, Five can feel it, the man is just trying to engage a conversation. But Five can't. He really can't. Trust him ? Maybe he is part of the Commission. Trust him ? With these eyes ? With HIS eyes ? He clenches his jaw, he clenches his fingers and feels the suitcase's handle, which makes him glance at it as the man does.

"Your bag ? Never see that one before. Here I mean. There was an alien with a blue box once and an old man with a DeLorean. Loved that guy actually. I was sad that I couldn't meet him in real life, you know. Since he is not from my dimension. "

Too much informations. Too much informations. And no time. No time.  
The man continues.  
Five hates the way that man talks, like he knows better than anyone.

"Did I tell you that this place is the same for every dimension ? Sooooo sometimes you can cope with bizarre things. The cool thing is, wherever you come from, we can understand each other, like this place translate every fucking language. You can meet and talk to a lot of incredible people if you wait for it. And you have to wait, until your body is sent back into the tunnels.  
\- How long are we going to stay here ?  
\- Oh, it depends. Not very long, or very very long.  
\- I can't stay here ! I will... I will..."

Die.  
He will die.  
He remembers the explosion, he remembers the fire, he remembers the smash. He remembers the shrapnel inside of him.  
Shit. Shit shit shit.

"I can't die here ! screamed Five. If I die here, I can't help them stop the apocalypse !  
\- Wow wow stop, calm down ! You're not going to die, that's literally impossible.  
\- Wh... What ?  
\- I told you, there is no time here. And time changes everything. So here, nothing changes."

Five pulls up his sweater to check on his wound and finds... nothing. There is a hole, there is definitely a shrapnel inside of him, but there is no trace of blood. He's not bleeding. He's not dying.  
He doesn't feel pain.  
He is... okay, in a way ?  
Because shit, he doesn't feel his heartbeat either.  
He's not dying, but he is not alive.  
SHIT.

"I need a drink.  
\- You mean like this ?"

And then, AND THEN, the man takes a bottle of whiskey out his coat !

"I stol... I mean I took it from my friend Raph just before I came here. And, as the same way as nothing can affect us here..."

He drinks from the bottle a big gulp of whiskey with a little smile because of Five's face. But when he shows him the bottle, the liquid's level didn't change. At all.

"It burns the mouth but... let's just say I never got drunk in this freaking place. Still, I don't think you're old enough to drink this.  
\- I'm 58."

At least, it shuts him up. Five snatches the bottle from the man's hand and drinks as well. He is right, it burns the mouth, but not the stomach. Like nothing happened. Like nothing will ever happen. Fuck.  
He watches at the man again, wondering if he can consider him as a threat. Especially since he is looking at him like he is going to kill him because he took his bottle. 

But then he smiles and Five hears him mumbling "little brat" before he says :  
"Let's play a game, shall we ? We have all the time in the world after all."  
Sometimes he sounds like the Handler, and frankly it creeps out Five a little bit. But he isn't the Handler. He isn't the Handler. The dust on his shoulders proves it. He isn't the Handler. Is he ?  
"What kind of game ?  
\- Then we can know each other. Every time you say something about you that is not relevant to me, you can drink one sip. But if it's the same for me, I take the bottle and I drink, and then I say something about me. Sounds fair ?"

Is this man really trying to compare himself to Five ? The assassin inside a 13 years old body chuckles. That man is NOT like him. Nobody is. But he can't ignore that they do have something in common.  
Hence let's do some research.

"Okay then... I time-travel because I want to stop the apocalypse.  
\- Me too !"  
He takes the bottle, drinks and puts it back into Five's hands.  
"But I think you guessed it. I really am not dressed like I travel for the hell of it, am I ?"

A strange man, a hobo, a mess. Five was dressed exactly this way for 30 years, in the apocalypse. But he is not...

"Since when do you try to stop the end of the world ? whispers the not-so-young man.  
\- A couple of years, I think ? I don't remember. There's so many thing I need to cancel : acid rain, pollution, cannibalism...  
\- In my dimension, all life end in a single day.  
\- Damn ! And when is your doomsday ?"

Five cringes. It's not a coincidence that he never says the exact date, only a countdown. But there is no date here, sooooooo...

"2019, April the first.  
\- Shit, for real ?  
\- For real.  
\- What a joke."

He sits down (if it's possible, since there is nothing here, no celling, no walls, no floor). He doesn't laugh, he doesn't question this information, he even nods at Five to let him know he could drink more if he wants to.  
Maybe he is used to see the universe laughing at him.

"Do you have an organization who try to stop you changing the timeline too ? he asks."  
Five gives him the bottle, slowly, still standing.  
"Yes, it's called the Commission."  
The man takes the bottle, but Five doesn't let it go.  
"You're not part of the Commission, are you ?  
\- You're not part of the Time Patrol, are you ?"

They stay this way a little, the bottle in their hand, looking at each other in the eyes.  
Iceberg blue and walnut brown. But the same void.  
And the dust on their shoulders.

"You're not well-dressed enough, they says in unison."

That could be funny, all things considered. Five drops the whiskey.

"What does it look like ? Your apocalypse ? he says while sitting down next to him, not too close but not far.  
\- This is hell on earth... but underneath the earth ! Because of the toxic air and the acid rain, you can't go outside. There are living-dead everywhere and necrophiliacs too. This... This is shit.  
\- Wow that's... that's awful."  
\- What about you ?  
\- I don't know how it happened but everything was destroyed. Every houses, every buildings, every fields, every one.  
\- How did you survive the destruction ?  
\- Because it wasn't there when it happened. I went to the future and saw it... and I got stuck.  
\- Wait. So you were alone, in the middle of... for how long ?  
\- 30 years...  
\- 30... Oh shit. Man. This must have been lonely. I mean..."

Gosh he hates it. Five hates it so much. How that man sympathizes with him. How that man is talking to him like he knows how he feels.  
But Five can't ignore... he can't ignore...  
The man hands him the whiskey and The Boy can't stop himself to take it and sip it.

"Continue ?  
\- I was adopted.  
\- Give me back the bottle.  
\- What, again ? I'm sure you're cheating.  
\- Trust me, I wish..."

He doesn't even drink the bottle, he's just staring at it for a while, like there are the answers of all his problems inside.  
And for a moment, Five wonders if he is going to smash the bottle against his face.

"Your parents, Five asks. Were they killed ?  
\- Um ? Oh. Ugh. It's more complicated than that.  
\- Can't be more complicated than my story.  
\- Oh really ? Do tell !  
\- I was born the exact moment 42 other babies were born from 42 different women who weren't pregnant before they gave birth to us.  
\- Holy shit.  
\- And I was adopted by some lunatic billionaire who tried to buy the maximum amount of babies and in the end, he had seven of them.  
\- WHAT THE FUCK. Here, drink it. I think you need it more than me."

It feels bad to taste the alcohol after that declaration. Because yeah, this is fucked up. This is fucked up.  
That man also thinks this is fucked up.  
And Five hates that.  
That man is watching him with pity, and Five hates that.  
That man puts his hand on his shoulder, and Fives hates that.  
He is trying to be reassuring, and Five hates that. 

"Hey you know, it's... still okay ? At least you didn't grow up alone.  
\- I did grow up alone."

Because of their Father. Because of their powers. Because of their competition. Because of his pride.  
Because he fucking jumped into the past when he was only thirteen and couldn't get back to see Van...  
Vanya. He left Vanya.

"Nah, says the man. You can't be alone when you have siblings. If you... can call them your siblings... I don't call them siblings actually. It's weird right ? We were raised together but we are strangers to each other... And then one day, I left them."

He left Vanya.

"Them and... her."

Vanya. Vanya. Vanya. Vanya.

He didn't spend more time with her now that he is back, because she is still in danger. He can't stay with her now that he has to stop the apocalypse, chasing by terrifying killers. She is still in danger. He can't put her in danger, she is powerless. Powerless, but important. But he didn't spend more time with her.

"Hey, do you think that it's incest even if we're not blood-related ?  
\- Wait what ?"  
The absurdity of the question snaps Five back to reality, or what's left of it.  
"You know, if two persons were raised together but don't share the same blood and love each other, do you think it's still okay to...  
\- No. What. No.  
\- Yeah yeah you're right haha nothing that matters anyway forget about it !"

Damn, that man feels like... like home. This is disturbing. Freaking disturbing. But the way he taps his shoulder, acting like there are no boundaries, it reminds him of The Handler. Say something, say something, something that he will not see coming, something that they definitely don't have in common.

"I don't have a real name, it's more a code than a name.  
\- Cheers !  
\- JESUS CHRIST !  
\- And we have Jesus in our dimension too !"

And he drinks, and he drinks more, and the level of whiskey doesn't drop and it's like whatever he does it doesn't even matters and what the hell.

"So. What's your name ? the man asks.  
\- My name is Five.  
\- What, like the number ?  
\- Yes.  
\- Okay, I see. And you... never wanted to change your name ? My friend Raph, everybody calls him Raph but it's not his real name and he prefers to be called Raph. You could have another name.  
\- I never minded. I know some people have troubles with their names but not me. It's just that I don't think it defines me. How is it different if I'm called Five or Hector ?  
\- That's a point of view. I didn't change my code name either. It's Renard, by the way.  
\- Like the animal ? What... Why is it supposed to be a code name ?  
\- I lived with a bunch of kids and we called ourselves a... a pack. So we all have an animal that matches with us. With our face or with our personality.  
\- They chose a fox for you because you have tiny eyes ? mocks Five."

The man, Renard, looks at him with an strange expression on his face.  
Serious, calm, thoughtful.  
Deadly.

"No. They chose Renard because of the term "as sly as a fox". And I kept my name because I love that expression, as sly as a fox. It reminds me that I am smarter than everyone else."

Five hates it.

"Or at least that's what I thought until I came here. Because if I was that smart, I would have stopped to try to end the apocalypse a long time ago.  
\- What ?!  
\- Yeah, you know, staying here puts things into perspective. Who am I to change the fate of the world ? What's meant to be is meant to be."

He reminds him of The Handler, he reminds him of The Handler, he reminds him of The Handler.

"That new world I want to create is a fucking fantasy. But I have enough pride to think that I, little Renard, can do it. Like the destiny of everyone is in my hands."  
He reminds him of...  
"Every time I came here, I met people who are like that, thinking they are gods, and I realized how fucked up this is."  
This is fucked up, Renard is fucked up, and Five feels like he belongs here and he hates it. He hates him. He hates him.  
"I realized that I don't want to be like that anymore but every time I get out, I do the same mistakes and I follow this fucking plan."

He throws away a huge piece of paper from his pocket, leaving it to Five who froze because of Renard's speech. But eventually, the paper ends on the floor (?) in front of Five and he discovers a frieze, a timeline with every disasters and how to prevent it.  
It creeps out Five because he isn't the Handler.  
He isn't the Handler. The dust on his shoulders proves it, the void in his eyes proves it.  
He isn't the Handler. No. He is worst.  
The mess with his scribblings, the names written all over the paper, the connections between every events. Something familiar.  
He is way worst. A strange man, a hobo, a mess. Five hates it. He is like...

"You said to people that someone is going to throw up inside their mouth to stop an apocalypse ? says Five. This is insane.  
\- Hey, answers Renard. If you read correctly, you will know it's logic.  
\- I don't say it's not logic, it's just ridiculous. Besides, there is a better way to be sure they will not change their mind."

Renard's eyes darkens and Five is sure, he is so sure that the man actually understands what he meant. And loathes it.

"You think I care if I look ridiculous when I want to save the world ? he grinds. And you have no rights to judge me, short pants."

That's it. Five snaps and grabs Renard by his collar, screams at his face, almost spits at his eyes.

"Don't you DARE talk to me like that ! You have no IDEA who I am, you..."

He can't finish his sentence, since he get a fist in the face which pushes him back. The pain knocks him out a little but when he touches in face, there is no blood. He's not bleeding. He's not dying. He doesn't feel pain anymore. He doesn't feel his heartbeat either. He's not dying, but he is not alive.  
And Renard can punch him again and again and again and again if he wants to.

"What ? says the man. You thought I would never punch a kid ? I killed zombies way younger than you."

Five shrieks out and runs, runs toward Renard to punch him too, again, and again and again. He uses his suitcase, he uses his Father's training, he uses his legs, his knees, his feet. And Renard punches him back, with his fists, with his elbows, again, again, again, again, agaaaaaaaain.  
They're not breathless, they're not tired, they're not bleeding, they could do this all the time, they have all the time in the world after all.  
But at some point, Five does a kick in Renard's leg that makes him kneel down.  
And he starts speaking.

"You little fucker. You're an assassin, aren't you ? You fixes your timeline by murder. And you think this is a better way ? You probably even think you're better than me !"

Yes. I know what to do, I know what is right. I'm not like him. I'm not like him.

"What about you ? says Five. You're ruining people's life !  
\- It's better than shortening it !  
\- Oh really ? So it's better to have a life that you didn't choose than to have your own short life ?  
\- Well I didn't choose my own life !"

Wow. 

That is heavy. 

So heavy that Renard falls to the ground, giving up.

"You think I chose living in a lie ?!"

Shit.  
He is like him.  
Five is like Renard.  
He can't deny it anymore. He can't fight against it, he can't fight against him anymore.  
So he sits next to him, but closer this time.

"He always said... HE always said there is a world worth fighting for. And I believed him.  
\- But he is dead now, right ? asks Five."  
Because the comparison can't end here. The man that raised Renard is probably dead, and then everything went wrong, just like Five's Father.  
"Yeah, yeah he is dead."  
Damn it.

"But I'm still trying to make a new world, says Renard. A new, splendid, wonderful future.  
\- And you're doing this only for the ones you love, aren't you ?"  
They both don't dare to touch the bottle. 

They just stare at the ceiling... the sky... the blank nothing... whatever. Then, they lie down, the bottle between them, but they didn't want to drink anymore, not whiskey at least.  
"I could kill for a cup of coffee, says Five.  
\- Me t..."  
And he stops. Because he realizes that it's not a metaphor for Five. He CAN kill for a cup of coffee.

"Henry knows how to make a good coffee. I wish he was here.  
\- You mean that someone can actually bear you ? mocks Five.  
\- He doesn't have the choice, he is a robot.  
\- I was raised by a robot.  
\- That explains a lot. Like your lack of empathy for example. But I get it. I'm not that good with humans so I'm better with something that... isn't truly alive.  
\- Me too.  
\- Wait, so we both spend our time with someone that doesn't have their own conscience and can't really love us back ? Cheers to that ?  
\- No ! Dolores is... She is..."  
A mannequin. She is a fucking mannequin.

"Hey hey hey ! It's okay ! It's okay, mumbles Renard. You know, as long as you're happy, and she's happy, there's nothing wrong about it. Still a better love story than mine. And still a better love story than Twilight."  
Renard laughs and looks at Five but then stops laughing when he sees that the Boy doesn't laugh too.  
"Shit I forgot, you were probably still in the apocalypse when Twilight was OH SHIT MAYBE TWILIGHT DOESN'T EVEN EXIST IN YOUR DIMENSION ! Wait, does Marvel exist in your universe ? You know, with superpowers and shit ?  
\- Superpowers ?  
\- Yeah, you know about superpowers ?  
\- Sure, I have one.  
\- WHAT ???  
\- I can teleport, Five kinda laughs. I can... Wait I can...  
\- No. Don't. Don't try it. It's already unnatural that we are here, who knows what could happen if we get out by force."

It's so strange how easy Renard can read in his mind.  
But hey, they are the same, aren't they ?

"So. You have superpowers. Does that mean that you are a superhero ?  
\- Do I look like a hero to you ?  
\- No you don't.  
\- Our Father trained us to be heroes. Me and my... siblings. We all have superpowers, well except Vanya, unless you call "playing violin beautifully" a superpower. But even with all their strength, they didn't stop the apocalypse. They just... They died. I found their bodies and...  
\- I guess it was intense when you went back to save them.  
\- Haha ! No... I'm still an asshole.  
\- What ? You have the chance to see them, to bond with them, to make up for the lost time and you...  
\- They are ghosts to me."

The silence is heavy and almost palpable, almost visible in this blank space.

"They will stay ghosts to me until the apocalypse is really stopped.  
\- And what would you do then ? You think you could move on ?  
\- Of course I could.  
\- Move on ? You, who spent your life waiting to find a way to stop the apocalypse because you didn't agree with the fact that your family would die ?  
\- Stop it.  
\- You don't CARE if people die ! Who cares after all ? People die every day ! There are not good, there are not bad, but they are people, who DIE. We are all equals in front of the Death !  
\- STOP.  
\- So what if you just decide who can live longer or not, uh ? What if you just decide who deserves to be killed or who deserves to be saved ? Because YOU can decide, YOU are a SUPERHERO !  
\- STOP !!!"

He doesn't know if it's him because his whole body tenses, or if the ground really did shake when he screamed.

"I just... I just don't want to be alone anymore.  
\- You said that even with them, you were still alone.  
\- Yeah well... You can't be Number Five if you're the only one left."

They eventually stay that way for a while, no talking, no moving, nothing at all, just making the most of the peace and quiet the Timeless Zone offers them.  
Then, Renard starts to tell about his Henry, his missions, Raph, the Time Patrol... He is very talkative, but Five doesn't mind.  
He never liked talking to people anyway, and he is used to listen to weird stuff, like all the things the Handler told him about her operations and her missions and seriously how even did Five compare Renard to the Handler ? He is awkward, sure, but he doesn't make him feel uncomfortable the way she does. Or more likely, DID. Gosh Five hopes she is dead. 

Soon, Renard asks him about his family, how they grew up with those powers, how he grew up with the ruins of the world. And Five answers, explains, confesses. He never talked that way with someone before. Maybe because he didn't care. Maybe because this man is the only one to understand him.  
They stay that way for a while. A very very long while.

"God, how long...  
\- Yeeaaaaaah, sighs Renard. I hate it too. Most of the time this place messes up with my stomach, but sometimes this place messes up with my mind. I feel like half of my brain melts.  
\- Oh, because you have more than one half of a brain ?  
\- Haha, very funny.  
\- But what if..."

And Five stops, breathless, for real this time, and shit shit SHIT it hurts and he screams !!!!! He screams and he picks his suitcase and holds it tight and he screams !!!!

"Hey hey hey buddy ! Renard says. Hey what's happening are you okay ???  
\- SHIT, spits out Five. It's the shrapnel. It hurts. Shit, I almost forgot.  
\- Okay okay, breathe, you want me to help you ?  
\- No, it's okay, I can handle this."

He is still on the floor, lying on his suitcase.  
And he feels something (he feels something!) sticky on his belly.

"I'm bleeding, he says. You said that I can't bleed here.  
\- That means that you're going home."

Renard sits cross-legged next to Five who watches him by lifting up his head, the sweat running on his forehead.

"That means that's a goodbye, smiles Renard.  
\- I will save them, Five delivers with effort. I will prove to you that I can do better than you.  
\- I don't think so."

Renard puts his hand on Five's head, messes with his hair.

"Until next time, you won't remember a thing."

And then Renard disappears. 

And Five lands on the bar. It hurts. It hurts so much. But there are Allison, and Diego, and, Klaus, and Luther, and Five can't show them that he is hurt. They need to keep going. Because he... Because he... Wait, what happened ? He was... He was... At the Commission. He was at the Commission. He needed to know who was responsible for the apocalypse. He needs to stop the apocalypse. Because he... Because he...  
Damn he is thirsty. Why is he so thirsty ? He steals Allison's cup and drink it, drink it all, it burns his mouth but also his stomach and... well yeah this is normal why does it feel like like it's not... The cup is empty. This is normal too. His actions have consequences. Finally. Time changes everything. Yeah, he always knew that, why does it feel like...  
No.  
He doesn't care.  
This is not important.  
He has something to do.

The apocalypse is in 3 days.


End file.
